New Airbag Rule Seeks to Reduce Deaths in Rollover Accidents

All motor vehicle crashes are potentially deadly, but some types prove more fatal than others. Rollover and side impact accidents in particular, even minor ones, eject drivers and passengers all too often, causing further injuries and deaths to drivers and passengers alike. In an effort to prevent these ejections, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) developed a new rule that requires automakers to produce and install larger side airbags to keep people inside cars during an accident and alive afterwards.

Fatal Facts

Vehicles with higher centers of gravity, such as sport utility vehicles and semi-trailer trucks, are more at risk for rollovers and jackknifing accidents, especially at high speeds. According to the NHTSA, rollover accidents account for around 33 percent of total deaths in crashes annually. Over the last decade, rollovers caused approximately 10,000 fatalities annually, with most occurring after ejection through a side window. When the new NHTSA rule takes effect, it could has the potential to save 373 people from death and 476 people from injuries on average each year.

Recent Rule

Airbags already exist as safety devices in most cars on the roads today. The new NHTSA rule on ejection mitigation requires automakers to enlarge side curtain airbags, ensure they remain inflated for a longer period of time and to secure the airbags to the vehicle's side pillars after inflation. The side curtain airbags must deploy during both side impact and rollover crashes. This regulation only applies to vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or less. The NHTSA mandates full rule compliance by September 1, 2017.

Mitigation Matters

The goal of the new NHTSA ejection regulation is to ensure that more people survive serious motor vehicle accidents when they occur. The cost of complying with this rule is about $31 per vehicle. This equates to approximately $400 million based on this year's projection that 13 million vehicles will be manufactured and sold in the U.S. The rule, which took two years to finalize, is one of a series aimed to prevent fatalities in rollover crashes. Other rules aimed to improve vehicle stability and to lower the center of gravity in popular sport utility vehicles.

Securing Safety

Studies show that drivers and passengers involved in car accidents have higher rates of survival if they are not ejected from their vehicles. Through its new rule to prevent ejection, the NHTSA recognizes this fact and seeks to secure safety for more people on U.S. roads in the near future. If you or your loved one was injured or killed recently in a side impact or rollover accident, contact an experiences personal injury attorney in your area to discuss issues like possible manufacturer defects that may make a powerful legal case in your favor.